SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 27, 2012 - Martin Brotman, M.D., senior vice president of education, research and philanthropy for Sutter Health, this week received a lifetime achievement award for his 40-plus years of caring for patients in the San Francisco area. Honored by the San Francisco Business Times, Dr. Brotman received a standing ovation from hundreds of physicians, business and community leaders and health care advocates at the publication’s 2012 Health Care Heroes Awards event.

“Dr. Brotman’s dedication to serving patients is unparalleled—he’s a caregiver at his core,” said Sutter Health president and CEO Pat Fry. “For decades, his thoughtful approach to patient-centered care served as a model for many emerging physicians and health care leaders. His leadership and vision continue to play a vital role in Sutter Health’s efforts to advance high-quality, affordable health care.”

Compassionate Physician and Transformative LeaderDr. Brotman opened his practice in the 1960s, focusing on internal medicine, gastroenterology, and inflammatory bowel disease. Beloved by his patients and peers, Dr. Brotman leads by example through compassionate, personalized health care—on some occasions, even travelling hundreds of miles to care for patients outside of the Bay Area so they wouldn’t incur extensive travel costs. During such travel, he also made time to mentor younger GI specialists through lectures, training programs and more. Notwithstanding his transition from a full-time medical practice into hospital administration, Dr. Brotman continued to care for patients every week.

While President and CEO of Sutter Health-affiliated California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) in the 1990s, Dr. Brotman helped guide the transformation of CPMC into what has become one of the most respected specialty care hospitals on the West Coast.

Following his leadership role at CPMC, Dr. Brotman led Sutter Health’s West Bay Region, which includes four hospitals and a physician organization. The region cares for more than a half-million patients each year across the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Continuing his lifelong interest in education and research, Dr. Brotman recently assumed responsibility for Sutter Health’s expanded Research, Development and Dissemination (RD&D) function. Sutter Health plans to invest $20 million over the next three years to fund the RD&D program. Research will focus on rapid cycle, value-added enhancements in health care such as inventing and launching new products and developing and testing transformative care solutions for high-quality, patient-centric care. The program is will translate knowledge into proven solutions and seeks to adopt improvements as rapidly as possible in real practice and community settings.

National Name in GastroenterologyThroughout his career and many leadership roles in the Sutter Health network, Dr. Brotman maintained his dedication to internal medicine and his lifelong interest in inflammatory bowel disease. At CPMC, he created a GI Fellowship, a gastroenterology laboratory, and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center.

Dr. Brotman also provided his expertise in the field to several medical organizations, including his service as President of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), which recognized him with the prestigious Julius Friedenwald Medal, the organization’s highest honor. Playing an instrumental role on the AGA’s Task Force on Quality in Practice, Dr. Brotman helped shape national guidelines and recommendations in the field. His professional advisory and leadership roles extend to service as the Chairman of the Subspecialty Board on Gastroenterology of The American Board of Internal Medicine, Chairman of the Board of the California Transplant Donor Network, and co-chair of the Hospital Council of San Francisco